“Something unexpected?”
“With these participants? What a joke.”
Chapter 447 Jade Skin Stage
Time quietly flowed as a month and several days unknowingly passed by.
Meanwhile, the date of the chief disciple selection also swiftly approached.
The Cangxuan Sect grew increasingly abuzz with excitement as the big day neared, every discussion in every corner of the sect basically somehow related to the upcoming chief disciple selections.
The participant list had already been thoroughly analyzed by numerous disciples, before they used all kinds of methods to evaluate the odds of each participant.
Towards the end, some of the richer disciples even began setting up betting stands that instantly drew swarms of disciples over. After various evaluations, the most popular contenders for each peak was decided by majority opinion.
Without doubt, Saint Genesis Peak’s most popular contended was naturally Lu Hong’s first disciple, Yuan Hong.
As for the other two factions, neither Zhou Tai nor Lu Yan came anywhere close to Yuan Hong in popularity. It was obvious that most of the disciples fancied Yuan Hong’s odds.
When even Zhou Tai and Lu Yan faced such treatment, even less needed to be said about Zhou Yuan.
His name had not even appeared among the ranks of most popular contenders. In fact, the most amusing thing was that his betting odds were the highest of all the participants… hitting an all time high even in the rich history of the Cangxuan Sect.
One could easily see just how pathetic that was.
Such odds even became a popular joke in the sect for a time, people often joking about throwing in a thousand Genesis jade pieces. In the million in one chance that Zhou Yuan managed to go against all expectations and emerge as the winner, wouldn’t you have made a killing?
However, no one ultimately made such a low odds gamble, because many people felt that it would purely be a waste of Genesis jade...
…
Boom!
Two torrents of fire and water spurted out from the giant stone dragon mouths, ultimately meeting on the stone stage. The two forces crashed into each other, creating a pocket of extreme cold and heat from which steam instantly rose.
On the stone stage now filled with fire and water, a figure silently sat.
This figure naturally belonged to Zhou Yuan.
In contrast to how he had let out a piercing shriek each time the fire and water Qi surged towards him a month ago, after a month of being subjected to this tempering, Zhou Yuan had gradually accustomed himself to it.
Although the pain was still unbearable, he was ultimately able to endure it.
Boundless fire and water Qi endlessly burrowed into his body, converging under his skin as they continued to slowly sink in and temper his body...
Zhou Yuan’s eyes were currently shut, several clear lines visible on his bare upper body. Although no bulging muscles could be seen, every tremble of his flesh and skin seemed to contain an extremely explosive power.
Zhou Yuan’s skin in particular had a faint jade hue. Jade light seemed to flow upon it, making it appear glossy and sleek, as if a tiny flick would crack it.
Only those with powerful senses would be able to feel just how tough and unbreakable this layer of jade skin was.
If one took a closer look, one would discover small dark specks under Zhou Yuan’s jade like skin, a sign that it was not fully complete.
Fire and water Qi flowed within his skin, continuously tempering it. The residual specks left behind were the most stubborn impurities inside his skin that were evidently not going to be easily cleared away.
Zhou Yuan’s tightly shut eyes slowly cracked open at this moment.
He glanced at this skin as a small frown arose on his face. After more than a month of tempering, his little Mythic Saint Body was on the verge of attaining the first level jade skin stage.
However, these final impurities seemed to have also grown accustomed to the fire and water Qi. With the current intensity, it was going to be somewhat difficult to remove them.
Of course, these impurities would eventually be removed as long as he continued to expose them to tempering of the fire and water Qi. However, with the chief disciple selection fast approaching, what Zhou Yuan lacked the most was time.
“I need to increase the intensity of the fire and water Qi…”
A determined look flitted across Zhou Yuan’s eyes. He then lifted his head and looked towards old Xuan on the cliff as he shouted, “Elder, can you raise the water and fire Qi by one level?”
There were a total of eighteen stone scales on the heads of the stone dragons and each one that lighted up represented an increase of one level. Old Xuan had previously mentioned that back when patriarch Cang Xuan was still around, he would place the water and fire Qi at the highest level at all times.
What’s more, even the highest eighteenth level would only feel a little cozy to patriarch Cang Xuan.
Of course, that was only so to an existence like patriarch Cang Xuan. As for Zhou Yuan, even the weakest first level was already a torturous and painful experience.
It had not been easy for him to slowly accustom himself to it, and the decision to challenge a higher level at this point required no small amount of courage from him.
Hence, the lounging old Xuan was taken aback when he heard this request. He stared at Zhou Yuan’s figure in shock and said, “Are you sure, little fellow? The second level of water and fire Qi is going to be several times stronger than the first.”
The pain from being tempered by this water and fire Qi would surely be even more frightening than before.
Zhou Yuan did not reply, the unwavering look of determination in his eyes already telling old Xuan his answer. As the old man gazed upon the youth, a look of appreciation involuntarily rose within his eyes.
Such willpower and courage was indeed quite extraordinary.
“Since you have the resolve, this old man will naturally fulfil your request.” A ripple spread with a sudden sweep of the broom in his hand. Next, one could only watch as the second unlighted scale on the stone dragon heads slowly began to brighten.
Rumble!
The land began to shake at this moment. Zhou Yuan could clearly feel two extremely vigorous Genesis Qi undulations echoing from giant cliffs that the two stone dragons were coiled around.
“Be careful, it’s coming. If you can’t endure, make sure you quickly get out of there!” Cautioned old Xuan.
Huu.
Zhou Yuan took a deep breath, his entire body tensing up as jade light flowed on his skin.
Rumble!
The glow of water and fire appeared from the mouths of the stone dragons on both sides. In the next instant, two enormous torrents of fire and water blasted out.
The moment the fire and water Qi appeared, it felt as if half the place had turned hot, while the other half was filled with a freezing cold.
The magnitude was on a completely different scale.
Ch ch!
Two giant jets of fire and water Qi blasted out, and collided on the tempering dragon stage, simultaneously engulfing Zhou Yuan’s body from the left and right.
Hss!
Indescribable intense pain flooded through him, causing Zhou Yuan to violently suck in a breath of cold air. Half of his body felt as if it was boiling, while the other half felt as if it had been instantly frozen...
He did not dare to even hesitate and immediately started circulating the little Mythic Saint Body cultivation method.
Fire and water Qi churned around him, piercing into his flesh and blood, the majority surging towards his skin.
Water and fire Qi rapidly spun under Zhou Yuan’s skin, as if trying to melt and freeze it away. From a distance, he was merely a silhouette wrapped by fire and water.
Within the water and fire, a figure trembled violently.
A grave look rose in old Xuan’s eyes as he watched, prepared to interfere at any time to stop
Zhou Yuan from being melted away by the water and fire Qi...
Fortunately, although old Xuan could sense the figure violently trembling inside the water and fire, the figure’s life force did not weaken, but instead grew increasingly powerful.
Water and fire continued to churn around the figure for an incense stick of time.
Until a certain moment, when the surrounding Genesis Qi suddenly shuddered, before rapidly receding like the tide, converging towards the stone stage where Zhou Yuan was seated.
The water and fire around him gradually faded away, revealing his bare upper body.
The surrounding Genesis Qi madly surged over at this moment, as it was swiftly devoured by Zhou Yuan’s skin...
The entire place seemed to fall silent for an instant.
A split second later.
Zhou Yuan’s tightly shut eyes abruptly opened as a dazzling jade glow burst out from the surface of his body. A warm and pure jade like luster covered every inch of his skin.
All the tiny dark specks within the jade glow from before completely disappeared at this moment.
His skin was now akin to a perfect and flawless piece of white jade.
Zhou Yuan lowered his head to look at his jade like skin, emotion rippling in his eyes as his hands slowly clenched. Even without circulating any Genesis Qi, there was already a dreadful power gathering inside his body.
After more than a month of painful training, Zhou Yuan had finally reached the jade skin stage of the little Mythic Saint Body...
Chapter 448 Conflict
Atop the tempering dragon stage, Zhou Yuan was widely grinning from ear to ear. A warm jade glow emanated from his body, making him a rather eye-catching sight when paired with his slim body and delicate features.
Of course, Zhou Yuan was not someone who was overly concerned about his appearance. Instead, he was more interested in the overwhelming power secretly surging inside his body like a giant flood.
His five fingers slowly closed. Even without circulating any Genesis Qi, he could feel a strong force swiftly gathering, a force that originated from his flesh.
This was a feeling Zhou Yuan had never felt before.
After all, he had never practiced any real outer cultivation techniques. This was his first time he had developed the power of his body.
According to Zhou Yuan’s estimates, even though his cultivation was still at the fourth layer Alpha-Origin stage, with the power of the little Mythic Saint Body, he now possessed the qualifications to tackle Yang Xuan in a direct fight without borrowing the strength of the Heavenly Yuan Brush.
After all, achieving the jade skin stage had not only vastly improved Zhou Yuan’s strength, but also bestowed him with strong defensive powers. Simply put, it would be very difficult for Yang Xuan to break through Zhou Yuan’s current defenses without a Heaven Genesis Weapon.
Various emotions churned in Zhou Yuan’s heart, only slowly calming after a long time. With a thought, the flowing jade light on his skin gradually receded, withdrawing deep into his body.
His toes pushed off the stage, his figure leaping into the air, and landing on the cliff.
However, he was clearly still rather unaccustomed to his new found strength. As a result, the rocks on the ground where he landed were shattered and crushed, leaving behind deep footprints.
“Not bad, you managed to achieve the first level jade skin stage in roughly a month.” Old Xuan nodded, evidently very satisfied by Zhou Yuan’s progress.
“Ordinary speaking, a normal person would take a year to reach this stage, and that’s only if he or she has numerous precious Genesis resources to nourish the body.”
“It’s all thanks to elder’s guidance.” Zhou Yuan’s eyes were filled with gratitude as he cupped his fists together at old Xuan. If not for the latter’s advice, Zhou Yuan would not have chosen the little Mythic Saint Body.
Without the little Mythic Saint Body, the Taiyi Green Wood Mark would not be able to bring out its true potential either.
Old Xuan waved his hand and said, “If you lacked the willpower, you would have failed to endure on the water and fire tempering dragon stage. If so, it would not matter how much guidance I give.”
Old Xuan clearly understood the pain one had to endure on the water and fire tempering dragon stage. What’s more, as someone who was attempting an external cultivation technique for the first time, Zhou Yuan had surely experienced terrifying pain. However, he ultimately managed to persevere, even having the charisma and courage to raise the intensity a level. In the end, he succeeded in pushing the little Mythic Saint Body to the jade skin stage.
Truthfully speaking, even old Xuan quite admired his boldness.
“There’s still some time till the chief disciple selection, and I intend to make good use of it by training here. I hope that elder won’t be too bothered.” Zhou Yuan grinned. Although he had achieved the jade skin stage, his ambitions clearly did not stop here.
Old Xuan glanced at Zhou Yuan in surprise, evidently not expecting him to be so ambitious. To think that he planned on challenging even greater heights… the pain that awaited him was going to be several times greater than what it was now.
Old Xuan slowly said, “Since you have the resolve, this old sack of bones will naturally be unafraid of guiding you through this mountain path.”
Zhou Yuan was overjoyed by this response. After all, he definitely required old Xuan help in order to get to the water and fire tempering dragon stage. Otherwise, it would be far too risky to recklessly enter the sealed area himself.
Zhou Yuan innocently scratched his head as he awkwardly said, “There’s also something else I hope elder can aid me with…”
“Speak.”
“Can you spare some time to take me to that Dragon Scale Chinese Scholar Tree again… I’ve used up all the tree scales from before, and practicing the little Mythic Saint Body for the past month has drained the single Taiyi Green Wood Mark I have.”
Upon hearing this, old Xuan immediately shot a sullen glance at Zhou Yuan. “You’re really a little too ballsy. Do you genuinely feel that the Dragon Scale Chinese Scholar Tree is your cultivation resource warehouse?”
Zhou Yuan let out an embarrassed chuckle. He too felt quite helpless about this situation. Practicing the Taiyi Green Wood Mark required rich Yimu Qi, but he currently lacked the means to secure sufficient ancient wood.
Hence, he could only place his hopes on the Dragon Scale Chinese Scholar Tree.
And to harvest its tree scales, old Xuan’s protection was absolutely crucial.
Old Xuan helplessly sighed under Zhou Yuan’s pleading gaze, before turning around to leave with his broom.
“Fine, as the saying goes, one should help till the end. Since I’ve already helped you so much, a little more wouldn’t hurt. Go back today and rest, I’ll bring you to chop some tree scales tomorrow…”
“Let’s hope that violent tree won’t go crazy.”
Zhou Yuan was overjoyed. He hurriedly caught up and snatched away old Xuan’s broom with a fawning expression.
“Elder is truly a good person. I’ll help you carry this so you won’t become too tired.”
Zhou Yuan’s attitude made old Xuan unsure whether he should laugh or cry. He could only shake his head and play along with the little fellow.
After leaving the sealed area, Zhou Yuan bid his goodbyes to old Xuan, before soaring into the air on his Genesis Qi. He passed by several peaks, and eventually arrived in front of his cave dwelling.
His figure descended as he somewhat tiredly stretched his back. Although spending an entire day tempering his body did not exhaust his vital energy, the mental stress due to the intense pain still took quite a toll on him.
Moments after he landed, however, his eyes suddenly paused as he caught sight of a figure anxiously walking to and fro in front of his cave dwelling. The figure seemed to be about to call out into the cave several times, only to shrink back time and time again.
“What is it?”
Zhou Yuan’s voice rang out. He had recognized the visitor as a disciple from the same faction, though not a very well known one.
The disciple hurriedly jerked his head around upon hearing the voice. His eyes immediately lit up with joy at the sight of Zhou Yuan, as he hastily ran over and said, “You’re back at last senior brother Zhou Yuan! Quick, you’ve got to go save Shen Wanjin!”
“Shen Wanjin?” Zhou Yuan was taken aback, before he soon began to frown. “What’s going on?”
The disciple sighed and answered, “I believe senior brother Zhou Yuan should be aware of what the atmosphere has been like recently in our Saint Genesis Peak.”
Zhou Yuan nodded. Due to the fast approaching chief disciple selection, the atmosphere over Saint Genesis Peak had turned exceptionally tense, mainly because of Lu Hong’s faction.
Lu Hong’s disciples were basically acting as if the chief disciple position was already theirs. In their opinion, they would surely become the master faction of Saint Genesis Peak in the near future.
Once they became the master faction, their status would increase. In contrast, the other two factions would be reduced to mere secondary factions, creating a rift of status between the former and the latter. As a result, Lu Hong’s faction had gradually grown more and more arrogant and unbridled over the past month.
The disciples of the other two factions were naturally very irritated by this change in attitude. As such, the number of conflicts in Saint Genesis Peak was even greater than it had been in the past six months combined.
“While we were training on a cultivation platform today, one of Lu Hong’s disciples was accidentally struck by stray strike from the spar between Shen Wanjin and someone else. In the end, a huge group of Lu Hong’s disciples chased us away and captured Shen Wanjin, refusing to let him go no matter what we said.”
“The one leading them was Wu Hai…”
“Wu Hai?” Zhou Yuan’s eyes narrowed slightly. He had heard this name before. Wu Hai was quite famous in Lu Hong’s faction, and was also one of the six participants in the upcoming chief disciple selection.
Dragon Prince Yuan c1-1251 Page 243
